6.4 Magnitude Quake Hits Taiwan, At Least 4 Dead

Rescue and emergency workers block off a street where a building came off its foundation, the morning after a 6.4 magnitude quake hit the eastern Taiwanese city of Hualien, on Wednesday.

Paul Yang
/ AFP/Getty Images

Originally published on February 7, 2018 11:22 am

Updated at 2:45 a.m. ET Wednesday

A series of earthquakes is rocking Taiwan, leaving at least four people dead and more than 100 injured, according to The Associated Press, which cites Taiwan's premier, William Lai.

The shaking started late Tuesday night local time, toppling buildings, destroying one bridge and buckling paved streets along the island's eastern coast. The quakes continue to jolt the area near Hualien County through early Wednesday morning.

The latest AP tally reports 225 people injured and more than 140 unaccounted for.

Four buildings have collapsed and one bridge has been damaged, Taiwan's National Fire Agency told ABC News.

The Central Weather Bureau, which tracks seismic activity in Taiwan, reported the epicenter of the earthquake was at sea about 11 miles north of Hualien City.

The Central News Agency reported that the ground floor of the Marshal Hotel, a building in Hualien district, had caved in and people were believed to be trapped inside. According to ABC, "there were over 100 guests in the hotel at the time of the quake, and at least three people remain trapped, the department said. Firefighters are continuing to deal with gas leaks and fires as a result of the quake."

A maintenance worker has been rescued after being trapped in the basement of the hotel, the AP reports.

And, the AP says, Taiwanese media reported that a separate hotel known as the Beautiful Life Hotel is tilting.

Compilation footage posted to Twitter by the China Global Television Network shows a building tilting on its side over a line of cars parked along the street. People can be seen running down the street, carrying ladders to climb over the rubble and reach people still inside the collapsed building. Another clip shows the damage caused inside a store. A handful of employees race out of frame as merchandise is shaken off the shelves and onto the ground.

The National Fire Agency says roads buckled and electricity and water supplies were disrupted.

Don Blakeman, a geophysicist at the National Earthquake Information Center, says the temblors have continued into the early morning hours on Wednesday. There have been three aftershock quakes over 5.0 so far. And, he added, these are just the latest in a series of quakes that began last week.

The AP reported the 6.4 tremor followed one over the weekend off the coast of Hualien, which lies along the famed, seismically active Ring of Fire that circles the Pacific basin.

This is a developing story. Some facts reported by the media will later turn out to be wrong. We will focus on reports from police officials and other authorities, credible news outlets and reporters who are at the scene. We will update as the situation develops.